COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – A leader and mentor to both students
and student-athletes alike, Assistant Athletic Director for
Academics and Student Welfare Dr. Lance Jasitt received the
Outstanding Diversity Advocate Award recently, along with TTU
Learning Resource Center Librarian Brooke Brown. The honor is in
recognition of their hard work, dedication, and support of minority
students at Tennessee Tech University.

Presented by the Commission on the Status of Blacks, any
professional staff member (administration, faculty, and staff) who
meets the following criteria and is currently or has previously
been employed full-time at Tennessee Tech is eligible for
nomination for the award. The nominated candidate should lead
by example and provide outstanding support in the following areas:
mentoring support to minority students, social support, and
academic support.

“This is the most significant honor that I have received
in my nearly 16-year career at Tennessee Tech,” Dr. Jasitt
said. “It is my hope that this humbling recognition will
cause me to have the courage to be a more visible advocate on the
issues of minority representation, tolerance, and appreciation of
diversity.”

Both honors took place at the annual award ceremony sponsored by
the Commission on the Status of Blacks, which also recognizes
minority students’ achievements throughout the
year.

"Upon learning that I would receive a Diversity Advocate Award,
I was at once thrilled and humbled," Brown explained. "I feel truly
honored to be seen as someone who strives to treat all members of
our campus community with respect and an attitude of helpfulness.
It is my mission and my pleasure to do everything in my power to
help the students, faculty, and staff of Tennessee Tech to succeed
in all of their endeavors. I am proud to be part of a community
that views promoting equality as something to be celebrated."

"In the eight years since I have been Director of Minority
Affairs and Executive Officer of the Commission on the Status of
Blacks here at TTU, both Brooke and Lance have shown their 'true
colors' by their selfless, tireless, and non-partisan actions in
working with both students and fellow employees," stated Director
of Minority Affairs Dr. Robert Owens. "I have worked with each of
these wonderful individuals on numerous occasions and have also
seen them work with other individuals of various ethnicities and
they have always gone above and beyond the call of duty in an
effort to be great servants. I am pleased that we had the
opportunity to honor these two outstanding individuals."

Tennessee Tech athletics has achieved great success in the
classroom, especially over the past two years. In the 2013-14 fall
semester, the Golden Eagle student-athletes posted the highest
combined GPA in history with a mark of 3.216. Over that period Tech
has also boasted five CoSIDA Academic All-District members, a
CoSIDA Academic All-American, and a winner of Tennessee Tech's
Derryberry Award.

“This is a great honor for both Dr. Jasitt and Ms. Brown,
and the athletic department as a whole is encouraged and proud to
have both of these outstanding individuals at Tennessee Tech
University, assisting not just our student-athletes, but the
student body as a whole,” said Tennessee Tech Director of
Athletics Mark Wilson. “We place a high emphasis on academics
and to have resources such as Dr. Jasitt and Ms. Brown at the
disposal of our students and student-athletes makes everything we
work for that much better.”